PARIS—Imane Khelif, the Algerian fighter whose presence here ignited a global furor about gender and sports, is officially an Olympic champion. 

What happens next will determine not just her place in boxing moving forward—but the future of boxing at the Games altogether. 

PARIS (AP) — Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has won a gold medal Friday at the Paris Olympics, emerging as a champion from a tumultuous run at the Games where she endured intense scrutiny in the ring and online abuse from around the world over misconceptions about her womanhood.

Khelif beat Yang Liu of China 5:0 in the final of the women’s welterweight division, wrapping up the best series of fights of her boxing career with a victory at Roland Garros.

Imane Khelif will fight for gold.

The Algerian boxer, whose eligibility has been called into question, advanced to the gold medal round of the women’s 66 kg welterweight division at the Paris Games, defeating Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng by unanimous decision, 5-0.

Khelif won all three rounds, dictating the pace throughout the three-round bout.

Boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan has advanced to the gold-medal bout in the women’s featherweight division, winning her third consecutive bout while dealing with widespread scrutiny regarding misconceptions about her gender at the Paris Olympics.

One day after welterweight Imane Khelif of Algeria reached the women’s welterweight final with a third straight victory in Paris, Lin defeated Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkey 5:0 on Wednesday night for her third win.

Lin will fight for gold on Saturday, taking on Julia Szeremeta of Poland.

A few days ago, I sought out and watched a boxing match from 2021: Algerian boxer Imane Khelif’s Olympic debut in Tokyo, long before she became a household name, and a symbol of gender identity wars, and caused Fox News panelists to lose their minds on national television.

What happened in that Olympic women’s boxing match? Imane Khelif of Algeria pummeled Angela Carini of Italy for 46 seconds before Ms. Carini threw in the towel. The Algerian boxer is biologically male but allowed to compete in the female category, raising concerns about fairness and safety. Imane Khelif isn’t transgender, but the language of transgender ideology has led to widespread confusion.

A judo world championship bronze medalist from Cuba who got back into the sport after moving to America. The son of a pioneer in the new Olympic sport of breaking who came to the US after an arduous journey through the desert. Basketball players and track and field athletes who came to the USA for college and professional sports who decided to represent their new country internationally.

Despite outcries from anti-trans celebrities and politicians, the International Olympic Committee confirmed Imane Khelif is eligible to compete in women's boxing at the Paris Games.

For all of his Grand Slam championships and other titles, for all of his time at No. 1, Novak Djokovic really, really wanted an Olympic gold medal for Serbia, the last significant accomplishment missing from his glittering resume.

He finally got one at age 37. Doesn’t matter a bit how long it took. Djokovic beat Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in an enthralling and evenly matched men’s tennis singles final at the 2024 Games on Sunday.